Method of manufacturing type

ABSTRACT

A two-part die set forms type by extruding characters while simultaneously scoring a fracture line around each character. Added height for each character may be provided to maintain its sharpness over an extended period of usage. A holder connected to a heating means carries the type such that it is slidably insertable and removable but effectively retained in operational position therein.

Unite States Kanarelr 1 l elm, 22,]1972 [54] METIIUD 01F MANUFA CTIJRING TYPE [72] Inventor: Joseph S. Kanarek, 5435 West 63rd St.,

Chicago, Ill. 60638 [22] Filed: Sept. 29, 1969 211 Appl.N0.: 861,718

[52] US. Cl .29/4113, 101/28 [51] Int. Cl I ..lB23p 17/00 [58] lField of Search ..29/413, 412, 21, 24, 177; 101/28, 29, 30, 31, 398; 72/324, 339, 331, 352, 414; 219/227; 225/2 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 446,929 2/1891 Rockey 101/398 1,048,460 12/1912 Duncan 1,102,397 7/1914 Duncan 2,343,191 2/1944 Kinlein 2,772,596 12/1956 Trussell ..85/5O 3,222,769 12/1965 Le Plae ..29/4l3 3,433,152 3/1969 Mullen et al... .....10l/28 3,461,537 8/1969 Lotz .29/413 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 502,628 5/1954 Canada ..29/41 3 Primary Examiner.lohn F. Campbell Assistant Examiner-Victor A. DiPalma Att0rney-Prangley, Clayton, Mullin, Dithmar & Vogel [5 7] ABSTRACT A two-part die set forms type by extruding characters while simultaneously scoring a fracture line around each character. Added height for each character may be provided to maintain its sharpness over an extended period of usagev A holder connected to a heating means carries the type such that it is slidably insertable and removable but effectively retained in operational position therein.

4 Claims, 14 Drawing lFigures SHEET 1 OF 2 IHVEHTOR JOSEPH S. KANAREK BY W KW MWM2Q/ W ATToF i w i a p s SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR JOSEPH s. KANAREK BY 1 9%,M JMJQM J ATTQRMEYS METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TYPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method of manufacturing type for use in heating units such as branding irons, to the die set used in such method, and to a holding member for carrying said type. More particularly, the invention relates to a die set and method for simultaneously embossing a plurality of characters on a sheet of material wherein the die set not only forms long lasting characters, but also causes extrusion and shaping of the metal so that the type may be individually broken from the font and arranged to fit in a holding member adaptable for use with any conventional wood burning apparatus or other heating device.

Heretofore branding irons and the dies for use therewith have been extremely limited in both utility and length of service. Each type character was individually hand fashioned or purchased and then laboriously adapted to a holding device. In addition, the effective life of heretofore existing characters or indicia was extremely short because the force and heat applied to the type face during the branding operation quickly wore down the metal and rendered the die incapable of forming a sharp and definitive character. Although the use of expensive metals in such dies increased the life thereof, their cost outweighed other considerations and made such an alternative impractical.

An alternative method using individual type within a holder is heating the tip of an iron and then laboriously etching or burning out the desired characters.

Thus. the user of such branding irons could not create dies without great effort and expense; and those dies the user could commercially obtain were of limited value. Furthermore, the art has not combined apparatus for overcoming these two problems with a holding member in which dies could be maintained in operational position and yet readily removed therefrom and replaced therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing branding type wherein simultaneously with manufacturing characters or indicia, fracture lines are formed in the embossed material to enable the individual characters to be readily separated one from the other.

It is another important object of this invention to afford type having a segment defined by vertical walls which compensate for deterioration of the character under heat and pressure and thereby provide sharp and definitive characters which maintain their sharpness for substantially longer periods of time than the embossing type heretofore available.

It is still another important object of this invention to provide a holding member for the type formed thereby which in cooperation with complementary means formed in the type enables the same to be readily inserted or removed from the holder but still ensures retention of the type in the holder during the embossing operation; all without requiring any tools or auxiliary equipment.

It is another object of this invention to afford a holder for embossing type which may be incorporated in ordinary heat generating devices such as soldering irons or commercial wood burning devices.

In summary, there is provided a die set for use in manufac' turing type, comprising a male die part having at least one forming projection element extending outwardly therefrom in the shape of a character, a female die part having at least one cavity element therein in the shape of the character, one of the die parts having a knifelike projection substantially surrounding its associated element and the other of the die parts having a mating surface substantially surrounding its associated element, the forming projection being aligned with the cavity and the knifelike projection being aligned with the mating surface when the die parts are in facing relationship, whereby forcibly moving one of the die parts toward the other with a sheet of material disposed therebetween causes a character to be extruded in the material and a fracture line to be formed substantially around the character.

In the method of making the type, the character is extruded on a sheet of material while simultaneously forming a fracture line around the character, followed by bending the material on the fracture line to separate a piece of type from the rest of the material.

There is also provided a holder having a dovetail-shaped mortise therein and means for securing the holder to a heatgenerating unit, each piece of type having a dovetail-shaped tenon shaped complementary to the mortise but slightly smaller in size to provide a secure press fit of the piece of type in the holder.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement and a com bination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit of sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and opera tion, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view ofthe male and female parts of a die set with a sheet of metal positioned therebetween preparatory to embossing the same to form a font of type;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the female die part;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the male die part;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view showing both parts of the die with a sheet of metal therebetween just prior to the embossing of the same;

FIG. 5 is a similar enlarged sectional view, but showing the die parts in embossing position;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a fragment of a font of type formed by the die parts;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the font of type with one type broken off therefrom;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of two type showing in dotted outline and arrows how the type may be separated one from the other;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a conventional branding or wood burning iron having a holder incorporating therein the principles of this invention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of three pieces of type positioned in the holder or about to be positioned therein as indicated by the arrow, with the wire clip in its release position;

FIG. 111 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of line 1l11 in FIG. 9 of the drawings and viewed in the direction indicated;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of line 12-12 in FIG. 11 of the drawings and viewed in the direction indicated;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view ofthe wire clip; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the holder used on the holder.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a die set 20 which embodies the principles of the present invention. The die set 20 includes a female die part 30 and a male die part 40. A sheet of material 50 which is to be extruded to form a font of type is positioned between the die parts 30 and 40 and resting on the male die part 40.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, it will be noted that the female die part 30 includes a plurality of sections 31, each section having a planar surface 32 and a cavity 33 in the shape of a character. The cavity 33 in the top left-hand comer of the female die part 30, as viewed in FIG. 2, is in the shape of the letter A; the next cavity 33, to the right, is in the shape of the letter B, etc. Each cavity 33 is defined by a first wall 34 that is inclined from the planar surface 32 in such a manner that the walls 34 of the cavity tend to converge. The cavity 33 also includes a second wall 35 that is substantially perpendicular to the planar surface 32 and extends interiorly from the interior end of the first wall 34 and terminates in a rear planar surface 36. Extending forwardly from the planar surface 33 is a knifelike projection 37 that surrounds the cavity 33 and is spaced laterally therefrom. The knifelike projection 37 is defined by a pair of beveled surfaces 38 that converge to form a knife edge 39.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, it will be noted that the male die part 40 includes a mating surface 41, that is planar in the embodiment shown. Extending outwardly from the mating surface 41 are forming projections 42 that are shaped in the form of the desired character. For example, the lower lefthand forming projection 42, as viewed in FIG. 3, is in the shape of the letter A, the next forming projection 42 to the right has the shape of the letter B, etc. These forming projections 42 are shaped complementary to the corresponding cavities 33 in the female die part 30, so that a projection 42 may be inserted into the corresponding cavity 33. Each forming projection 42 is defined by inclining walls 43 that converge toward one another and terminate in a planar top surface 44.

In use, a sheet of material 50 which is to be formed into type is placed so that it rests upon the male die part 40, with the female die part 30 being inverted and located so that its cavities 33 are aligned with the corresponding forming projections 42 in the male die part 40, and the knifelike projections 37 are aligned with the mating surfaces 41 as shown in FIG. 4. When pressure is applied to the female die part 30 so as to move it toward the male die part 40 (of course the pressure could be applied to the male die part 40, if that is desired), the sheet of material 50 will be deformed to the shape shown in FIG. 5. The pressure may be applied in any usual manner such as manually, hydraulically or pneumatically, but must be sufficient to form the sheet of material 50 and to cause extrusion thereof.

It will be noted that the movement of the knifelike projection 37 toward the mating surface 41 produces fracture lines 51 in a checkerboard pattern that defines a number of pieces of type 52. The thickness of the sheet of material 50 is substantially reduced along these fracture lines 51, but, in the embodiment shown, the material is not severed. Because the knifelike projections 37 are defined by beveled surfaces 38, the fracture lines 51 are likewise beveled. The relative movement of the die parts 30 and 40 forms on each piece of type 52 a base 55 supporting a character 53 which, in turn, has a body 56 and a head 57 It will be noted that the sheet of material 50 has been extruded into the portion of the cavity 33 defined by the perpendicular wall 35, thereby giving to the characters 53, thus formed, extra height in the form of the head 57. As the character 53 is used, the combination of heat and pressure tends to wear it down at the corners thereof. As this happens the character loses its definitiveness, and it, of course, becomes useless. The additional vertical height provided by the heat 57 prolongs the use of the character 53. The cavity 33 need not have the wall 34, in which case no head 57 will be formed. A font of type is shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 without the head 57 but with a base 55 supporting a character 53, such as the letter A," B, etc. Each piece of type 52 is separated from other pieces of type by bending the same to and fro along the fracture lines 51. Opposing ones of the beveled edges of the base 55 of each piece of type 52 define a tenon which may be used in retaining the type in a holder.

By utilizing the die parts 30 and 40 as described above, a sheet of material 50 may be formed into a font of type 52 with a minimum number of steps. By inserting the unformed sheet of material 50 and then bringing the die parts 30 and 40 together, a character 53 is extruded and, simultaneously, a fracture line 51 surrounding the character 53 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 9, there is also provided a heat-generating unit such as a branding iron 60, which includes a conically shaped barrel 61, a gripping member 62 and an insulator 63. There is also provided an internally and externally threaded sleeve 64 which receives a threaded heating element 65. The heating element 65 is connected to an electrical cord 66 which may, in turn, be coupled to an electric power source.

Referring to FIGS. 9 to 13, there is also provided a novel holder 70 having therein an internally threaded bore 71 which receives the externally threaded sleeve 64, so as to mount the holder 70 on the branding iron 60. The holder 70 has a dovetail-shaped mortise, the angle of incline thereof matching and mating with the angle of the base 55 of the type 52, the opposing edges of which define a dovetail-shaped tenon. The width of the tenon is only slightly less than the width of the mortise 72 so as to provide a secure press fit of each piece of type 52in the holder 70. Often, it will not be necessary to pro vide any additional means to retain the type 52 in the holder 70 since the mating of the tenon 55 in the mortise 72 is secure.

However, if desired, an additional means in the form of a wire clip 75 may be provided, which is shown in FIG. 13. To this end, there is provided a pair of grooves 73 and 74, the axes of which extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mortise 72. There is also provided a wire clip 75 bent to form a hinge portion 76, an abutment portion 77, a gripping portion 78 and a locking portion 79. The abutment portion 77 is actually the apex ofa V-bend in the wire clip 75. The hinge por tion 76 is positioned in the groove 73 to permit the abutment portion 77 to pivot between latching and release conditions. In the latching condition of the abutment portions 77, they obstruct both ends of the mortise 72 to prevent insertion and removal of the type therein. To move the abutment portion 77 between its latching and release conditions, a user merely grips the gripping portion 78 to take the locking portion 79 out of its groove 74 and the entire wire clip 75 is pivoted clockwise as viewed in FIG. 13 to a position wherein the abutment portions 77 do not obstruct the mortise 72. In that condition, type 52 may be inserted or removed from the mortise 72 as desired.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of manufacturing type, comprising extruding a character from a sheet of material and simultaneously forming a single fracture line in the sheet of material and substantially surrounding said character, and bending the material on said fracture line to sever the character and separate it from the remainder of the material.

2. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of extruding includes forming a base carrying a character having a body defined by an inclined surface and a head defined by a vertical surface.

3. The method of manufacturing type set forth in claim 1, wherein said fracture line is V-shaped in transverse cross section.

4. The method of manufacturing type set forth in claim 1, and comprising the further step of supporting the region encircling the character by a substantially planar surface while the fracture line is being formed, whereby said region prior to bending has one surface thereof substantially planar and has the fracture line formed in the other surface thereof. 

1. A method of manufacturing type, comprising extruding a character from a sheet of material and simultaneously forming a single fracture line in the sheet of material and substantially surrounding said character, and bending the material on said fracture line to sever the character and separate it from the remainder of the material.
 2. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of extruding includes forming a base carrying a character having a body defined by an inclined surface and a head defined by a vertical surface.
 3. The method of manufacturing type set forth in claim 1, wherein said fracture line is V-shaped in transverse cross section.
 4. The method of manufacturing type set forth in claim 1, and comprising the further step of supporting the region encircling the character by a substantially planar surface while the fracture line is being formed, whereby said region prior to bending has one surface thereof substantially planar and has the fracture line formed in the other surface thereof. 